Repair and maintenance support system and a car corresponding to the system

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a system for performing procedures to request repair, without troubling the driver, when a car breaks down, as well as various onboard peripheral apparatuses and cellular phone used for this system.  
     This system comprises an onboard peripheral apparatus having a failure detector, an onboard main controller for managing car information, a cellular phone which can make wireless connection to the onboard main controller, and a response center for receiving requests for car repairs and maintenance and making arrangements therefor. When a failure is detected, repair request is transmitted to the response center through wireless communication together with the user ID of the driver. Based on this request, the response center acquires remedy information from a car manufacturer and makes arrangements for repair and provides this remedy information to a repair shop.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to an automobile system fordetecting a vehicle failure and requesting repair or maintenance, andmore particularly to a repair and maintenance support system which isoptimal for carrying out procedures to request repair without troublingthe user at the time of a vehicle failure, and also relates to anavigation apparatus and cellular phone used in such a system.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] When a car goes out of order while it is being driven on theroad, the driver must identify a point of the failure himself, searchout the nearest repair shop, make a phone call to request repair, andfind the route to the shop and get the vehicle to the shop by driving ithimself. Also, if this is a situation where the vehicle cannot run, therepair person is called to the location to transport the vehicle to theshop. In this case, the driver must give his current location to therepair person. In the event of a breakdown in an area with which thedriver is not well acquainted, it will take time to transmit thisinformation correctly and a repair person will need extra time to arriveat the destination due to incorrect information. In this way, the driverof the vehicle must perform complicated tasks to make arrangements forthe repair work even in a disrupted situation, and will be stuck forlong periods of time.

[0005] The operation to confirm the condition of the vehicle isdifficult for many drivers, but technology for simply performing thisoperation has been disclosed. For example, the technology indicated inJapanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H09-159581, a navigationapparatus is provided with a function for acquiring a condition of avehicle. Once the vehicle information is transferred to a remote-controlapparatus of the navigation apparatus or a cellular phone, the vehicleinformation is retransmitted to a personal computer so that it can beexamined. When the cellular phone is used, the vehicle information issent to an automobile maintenance service company through a telephonenetwork and this information is used for the maintenance and inspectionof the vehicle.

[0006] Even with a conventional art, information necessary formaintenance and inspection performed by a maintenance service companycan be transmitted with a simple procedure by the vehicle user. However,in the case of a vehicle breakdown, a series of operations fromoccurrence of breakdown to repair, such as providing the location of thebroken down vehicle and a settlement method, have not been considered.Also, an external processing apparatus such as a personal computer isnecessary for management and processing of the vehicle information, butno method for enabling a driver to provide persons concerned withnecessary information from within or the vicinity of the broken downvehicle has been disclosed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a repair andmaintenance support system which enables a driver, at the time of a carbreakdown or failure, to take simple steps to correspond just byreporting the breakdown to one reception window, and enables to unifythe reception window resulting in easy use.

[0008] In order to solve the aforementioned objects, the presentinvention is a repair and maintenance support system comprising anonboard peripheral apparatus installed on a vehicle and comprising afailure detector, an onboard main controller installed on the vehicleand including a controller for managing vehicle information from theonboard peripheral apparatus, and a response center which can receiveinformation from this onboard main controller through wirelesscommunication; wherein the response center is provided a processcontroller, a database for storing failures received on the basis ofinformation from the onboard main controller, a database for storingcustomer-related matters, and a database for storing data relating tofailure remedies; and wherein the process controller acquiresinformation relating to failure remedy methods from the databaserelating to failure remedies established by the car manufacturer, basedon failure information from the onboard main controller, and indicateremedies to a shop for carrying out the failure remedies by transmittinginformation relating to the failure remedy method.

[0009] Also, the present invention is a response center which canreceive information relating to vehicle failures from the onboard maincontroller installed on a car and comprising a controller for managingthe operating condition of a car through wireless communication; whereinthe response center comprises a process controller, a database storingfailures received on the basis of information from the onboard maincontroller, a database storing customer-related matters, and a databasefor storing data relating to failure remedies; and wherein the processcontroller acquires information relating to failure remedy methods fromthe database relating to failure remedies established by the carmanufacturer, based on failure information from the onboard maincontroller, and indicate remedies to a shop for carrying out the failureremedies by transmitting information relating to the failure remedymethod.

[0010] Furthermore, the present invention is a car comprising a powersystem; a driving system driven by this power system; a braking systemestablished in this driving system; an onboard peripheral apparatushaving failure detector for detecting failures in at least one of thepower system, driving system, and braking system; and an onboard maincontroller having a controller for managing car information from saidonboard peripheral apparatus; wherein, when a failure is detected in atleast one of said power system, driving system, and braking system, thecontroller provides a driver with instruction to pull over and stop,while transmitting information relating to the car failure and IDinformation through wireless communication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 shows a constitution of a system relating to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

[0012]FIG. 2 shows an example of arrangement of constitutional elementswithin the vehicle relating to a first embodiment the present invention;

[0013]FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the process flow relating to thefirst embodiment of the present invention;

[0014]FIG. 4 shows an example display on the display of the navigationapparatus relating to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0015]FIG. 5 shows an example display on the display of the navigationapparatus and cellular phone relating to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

[0016]FIG. 6 shows an example display on the display of the navigationapparatus and cellular phone relating to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

[0017]FIG. 7 shows an example display on the display of the navigationapparatus and cellular phone relating to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

[0018]FIG. 8 shows an example display on the display of the navigationapparatus and cellular phone relating to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

[0019]FIG. 9 shows the elements constituting the failure reception tablerelating to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0020]FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the process flow relating to thesecond embodiment of the present invention;

[0021]FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the process flow relating to thethird embodiment of the present invention;

[0022]FIG. 12 shows an example display on the display of the navigationapparatus relating to the third embodiment of the present invention;

[0023]FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the process flow relating to thefourth embodiment of the present invention;

[0024]FIG. 14 is a drawing showing an example display on the display ofthe cellular phone relating to the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0025]FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the process flow relating to afifth embodiment of the present invention; and

[0026]FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the process flow relating to asixth embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] Preferred embodiments of the present invention are explainedbelow with reference to FIGS. 1 through 16.

[0028] The first embodiment of the present invention will be explainedwith reference to FIGS. 1 through 9. FIG. 1 shows an example ofconstitution of a repair and maintenance support system relating to thepresent embodiment. An automobile 1 is provided with: a power systemsuch as an engine or motor; a driving system (power transmissionmechanism, wheels, etc.) driven by this power system; and a brakingsystem (brakes) established in this driving system. The automobile 1 isfurther equipped with an onboard peripheral apparatus 2 for performingcontrol or monitoring of the engine and electronic devices; and anavigation apparatus 3 which is connected with a wireless interface 31to connect with a cellular phone 4, so as to be able to acquire currentposition information through GPS (global positioning system). Theonboard peripheral apparatus 2 comprises a sensor for performing failureor breakdown detection for at least one of the power system, drivingsystem, and braking system. The power system, driving system, andbraking system are basic parts of a car and therefore it is desirablethat sensors be established in and failure or breakdown detectionperformed for all of these. However, failure detection is performed forthe engine in the present embodiment. Furthermore, in cases where acomputer is used for the control of the engine, different types ofsensors for detecting failures and the operating conditions of eachpart, such as electrical devices, or each functional block areestablished according to whether the goal is to perform control ormonitoring. The navigation apparatus 3 uses GPS and acquires informationnecessary for specifying the location from artificial satellites,processes that information, and displays the current car position andorientation on a map on the screen.

[0029] In the present embodiment, the navigation apparatus 3 hasfunctions of a main onboard controller, and is connected to the onboardperipheral apparatus 2. The controller performs management of thedifferent types of vehicle information such as the speed and traveldirection of the vehicle detected by the onboard peripheral apparatus,or of the vehicle operating condition, such as whether each section isworking normally. The wireless interface 31 for communicating with thecellular phone for through a wireless connection is installed in thenavigation apparatus 3. The same type of wireless interface 41 isinstalled in the cellular phone 4 and can form a wireless connectionwith the navigation apparatus 3. In the present embodiment, a secondgeneration low-power data transmission system/wireless LAN system (ARIBSTD-T66) developed by the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses(ARIB) is used for this wireless interface, but the wireless interfaceis not limited to this and may also use the infrared communication whichis used commonly in personal computers.

[0030] In the present embodiment, the cellular phone 4 belongs to thedriver (customer of this system) of an automobile 1 and can communicatethrough a base station 5 with other telephones or information processingdevices connected to a communications network 11 such as a fixedtransmission circuit network or the Internet. In the present embodiment,the following are connected to the fixed transmission circuit network:the response center 6 for accepting and arranging car repairs andmaintenance, the car manufacturer 7, the repair shop 8, and thesettlement corporation 9 for managing the payment of the cellular phonefees and so forth. The repair and maintenance support system isconstituted with these. The response center 6 comprises a processingserver 61 as a process controller for receiving and arranging carrepairs and maintenance, the repair reception table 62 which is thedatabase of failures, the customer database (hereinafter “customer DB”)63, the car manufacturer database (hereinafter “manufacturer DB”) 64,and the remedy database (hereinafter “remedy DB”) 65. The carmanufacturer 7 has a customer DB 71 and remedy DB 72 so as to clarifydata such as the vehicle type and model year of the automobile used bythe customer and data such as remedying method for a failure or thenecessary parts. The repair shop 8 has a repair reception table 81 whichis a database for storing received failure information. The settlementcorporation 9 has a customer DB 91 as billing information for settlingrepair fees for the failures.

[0031] The processing steps for each element are explained next. FIG. 2is a block diagram showing an example of the internal constitution ofthe onboard peripheral apparatus 2, navigation apparatus 3, and cellularphone 4. In order to monitor the condition of the parts and functionalblocks, the following are installed in the onboard peripheral apparatus2: a failure detector 21, controller 22, memory 23, and communicationinterface 24. Information such as manufacturer of parts, model name, andfailure code are stored in the memory 23. When the failure detector 21detects a failure, the controller 22 references the memory 23 andoutputs information (failure information), such as the manufacturer andmodel name of the parts which is out of order and the failure code,through the communication interface 24 to the navigation apparatus 3.

[0032] The navigation apparatus 3 comprises a position detector 32carrying out its original function, a controller 33, a display 37, andan operating portion 36, as well as a communication interface 35 forhandling the exchange of information with the onboard peripheralapparatus 2, a memory 34 for storing car/position information such asthe manufacturer ID, car ID, and tracking data, an indicator 38 formaking notification of a failure, and a wireless interface 31 forcommunicating with the cellular phone 4. The controller 33 has thefunction of managing the vehicle condition and uses the indicator 38 tonotify the driver to pull over and stop in the case of receiving failureinformation from the onboard peripheral apparatus 23 through thecommunication interface 35. Also, the controller 33 carries out controlso as to transmit car position information to the cellular phone 4through the wireless interface 31.

[0033] In the present embodiment, the cellular phone 4 comprises awireless interface 41, a controller 42, a display 45, an operatingportion 46, an indicator 47, memory 43, and a telephone networkinterface 44. The display 45 of the cellular phone 4 displays thecontents of failure information received. A repair request from theoperating portion 46 to the cell phone user is input to the cellularphone 4 and thereby the controller 42 adds the user ID stored in thememory 43 to the failure information, car information, and positioninformation, and makes an automatic call to transmit this information tothe response center 6 through the cellular phone network interface 44and antenna 48.

[0034] The process flow of the elements constituting the repair andmaintenance support system relating to the present embodiment isexplained with reference to FIG. 3. The processing procedures in thepresent embodiment are divided into Steps 1 through 3, from when thefailure occurs until the driver request repair from the response center6, and Step 4, from when the response center 6 receives the repairrequest until the response center 6 sends instructions to the repairshop 8. We will now consider the case where the onboard peripheralapparatus 2 (for example, the engine operating portion) detects afailure.

[0035] Step 1: The onboard peripheral apparatus 2 has the function ofmonitoring the condition of the parts and functional blocks. In the casewhere the failure detector 21 detects a failure, the controller 22installed in the onboard peripheral apparatus 2 performs control toreference the memory 23 containing information such as the partsmanufacturer and model name, and failure code, and send the pertinentinformation (failure information) through the communication interface 24to the navigation apparatus 3 (Step 101). The controller 33 installed inthe navigation apparatus 3 has the function of managing the carcondition. In the case of receiving failure information from thecellular phone 2 through the communication interface 35, the controller33 performs control to notify the driver to pull over and stop using theindicator 38 (Step 102). In particular, the power system, drivingsystem, and braking system are basic portions of the car. In the casewhere a failure is detected in these areas, it is desirable to stopdriving for safety reasons. The notification method may use voice or, asshown in FIG. 4, a display on the display 37 of the navigation apparatus3 telling the driver to stop the vehicle (200), or a combination ofvoice and display. With the control in this step, a car with a failurecan be quickly stopped and safety ensured.

[0036] Step 2: In the case where the controller 33 of the navigationapparatus 3 detects that the car has stopped, the controller 33exercises control to extract failure details from the failureinformation transmitted by the onboard peripheral apparatus 2 in Step 1,and to display that information on the display 37 of the navigationapparatus 3 (Steps 103 to 104). At this time, the controller 33 may alsoexercise control to reference the memory 34 of the navigation apparatus3 using the failure information transmitted from the onboard peripheralapparatus 2, and display those referenced details on the display 37.FIG. 5 shows an example of this display. Along with the displayindicating that a failure has occurred (201), general information on thelocation of the failure and the remedy thereof (202) is displayed. Whenthe driver wants to know detailed information, the driver presses the“Details” button (203) with the operating portion 36 of the navigationapparatus 3 and causes the detailed information to be displayed.Furthermore, the driver is asked to choose whether to request repairfrom the response center 6 (204). The driver then makes the choice ofwhether to request repair by selectively operating the “yes” button(205) or “no” button (206) displayed on the screen.

[0037]FIG. 6 is another display example. The failure details can betransmitted to the driver correctly and quickly by displaying thelocation of the failure with a drawing or icon, which is easy tounderstand visually (207, 208), along with the display indicating that afailure has occurred (201). When detailed information is necessary, thedriver can operate the “Details” button (209) with the operating portion36 of the navigation apparatus ,3 and cause detailed information to bedisplayed. In response to the question of whether to request repair fromthe response center 6 (204), the driver selects whether to make a repairrequest by a selectively operating the “yes” button (205) or “no” button(206) displayed on the screen as in the case in FIG. 5. In addition toconfirming the safety of the car and driver, the control in this stepcan notify the driver precisely of failure details. Also, more detailedinformation can be provided in response to a request by the driver.

[0038] Step 3: By operating the operating portion 36 of the navigationapparatus 3, the driver inputs a repair request to the navigationapparatus 3. In that case, the process advances to the next step. Theprocess terminates if a repair request is not made (Step 105). Thecontroller 33 of the navigation apparatus 3, which is instructed to makea repair request, exercises control so as to transfer car informationsuch as the car manufacturer and car number stored in the memory 34 andcar position information attained from the position detector 32, and thefailure information sent from the onboard peripheral apparatus 2,through the wireless interface 31 to the cellular phone 4 (Step 106).The cellular phone 4 which received this information uses the controller42 in the telephone to exercise control so as to add the user IDspecifying the user of the cellular phone stored in the memory 43 to thefailure information, car information, and position information,automatically call the response center 6, and send this information tothe response center 6 (Step 107). The telephone number of the responsecenter 6 may be stored in advance in the memory of the navigationapparatus 3 or cellular phone 4. Also, the user ID of the cellular phone4 may also be the telephone number of the phone. With the control inthis step, the driver completes the procedure for requesting a repairfrom the response center 6 just by performing operations to make arequest with the screen for selecting a repair request. Step 4: Aprocessing server 61 is established in the response center 6 to performdifferent types of information processing as shown in FIG. 1. There arealso databases such as a customer database 63 for managing customerinformation, a car manufacturer database 64 for managing information oneach car manufacturer, and a remedy database 65 for managing work itemsand so forth to be performed in the event of each failure. Thesedatabases share information with databases at the car manufacturer 7connected with the response center 6 through a fixed transmissioncircuit network or the Internet and may also receive information updatesfrom the car manufacturer 7. The processing server 61 in the responsecenter 6 which received the failure information, car information,position information, and user ID of the cellular phone 4 stores thisinformation in a failure reception table 62 established in the center.Next, the processing server 61 references the information in the failurereception table 62 and the databases in the center and identifies theowner of the car (Step 108). For example, the processing server 61 mayextract the car manufacturer and car ID from the car information storedin the failure reception table 62, reconcile this with the data held inthe car manufacturer database 64, and find the owner of the car. Afterthe owner of the car is specified, the processing server 61 communicateswith the navigation apparatus 3 through the cellular phone 4 to confirmagreement to the repair (Step 109). Because the user ID of the cellularphone 4 is already stored in the failure reception table 62, it ispossible to specify the contact information.

[0039] Also, the cellular phone 4, which received the communication forconfirming agreement to the repair from the processing server 61 of theresponse center 6, may have a program for processing procedures storedin the memory 43 so as to transfer the communication contents to thenavigation apparatus 3 automatically. The navigation apparatus 3, whichreceived the confirmation of agreement to the repair, exercises controlwith the controller 33 to display the contents of the agreementconfirmation on the display 37. FIG. 7 shows an example of that displayscreen. The display 37 indicates that the response center 6 received arepair request (210), and shows the owner of the broken down carspecified by the processing server 61 and the user ID of the cellularphone 4 specifying the caller related to the repair request (211). Ifthe user ID of the caller's cellular phone 4 is the cellular phonenumber, for example, payment of the repair fee may be drawn from thepayment account for the cellular phone 4. In this case, advantages arethat the settlement procedures are simple for the person requesting therepair, and that confirming the identity of the caller, paymentprocessing, and confirming agreement to the repair are performed withcertainty for the response center 6.

[0040] The controller 33 of the navigation apparatus 3 exercises controlso as to display information to the effect that the repair fee will bewithdrawn from the payment account for the cellular phone 4 (212) andthe button to confirm agreement to that (213) on the display 37. Also,as shown in FIG. 8, communication to the effect that the transfer slipwill be sent the following day (214) and the button to confirm agreementto that (213) may also be displayed for the car owner specified by theprocessing server 61 of the response center 6. When the user operatesthe operating portion 36 to input his or her agreement, the controller33 of the navigation apparatus 3 automatically exercises control tocommunicate that agreement to the response center 6 through the cellularphone 4. The processing server 61 at the response center 6 whichreceived the communication of the agreement references the informationstored in the failure reception table 62 and the databases in thecenter, determines the method for the remedy, and provides instructionof the remedy to the repair shop 8. At the time when the method for theremedy is specified, a repair shop 8 that can reach the position of thebroken down car in the shortest period of time is selected from amongeither of the repair shops 8 during business hours or those availableeven outside the business hours.

[0041] At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, when the contents of thefailure reception table 62 in the response center 6 match theinformation 81 received by the repair shop 8, the information necessaryto make the repair, the location of the broken down car, the caller, andso forth can be understood and the repair work can be carried outquickly and correctly. With the control in this step, the personrequesting the repair is provided a feeling of security because theresponse center 6 communicates that the repair request was received tothe person requesting the repair; the agreement of the person requestingthe repair and the confirmation of the payment method are completed witha secure and simple procedure for the response center 6; and for therepair shop 8, the information necessary to make the repair, thelocation of the broken down car, the caller, and so forth can beunderstood and the repair work can be carried out quickly and correctly.

[0042] In the procedures for the aforementioned total of four steps, theprocesses performed by the navigation apparatus 3 and the cellular phone4 are stored as programs in the memory installed in each device.

[0043]FIG. 10 is an example of the process flow of the repair andmaintenance support system relating to the second embodiment of thepresent invention. The present embodiment has the same constitution asthe first embodiment, but the failure details are displayed by thecellular phone 4 instead of the navigation apparatus 3.

[0044] Step 1: The process is the same as in the first embodiment. Thecontrollers of the navigation apparatus 3 and the cellular phone 4 mayexercise control so that the notification to pull over and stop the caris made with the indicator 38 of the cellular phone

[0045] Step 2: In the case where the controller 33 of the navigationapparatus 3 detects that the vehicle is pulled over and stopped, thecontroller 33 of the navigation apparatus 3 exercises control so as totransfer car information such as the car manufacturer and car numberstored in the memory 34 and car position information attained from theposition detector 32, and the failure information sent from the onboardperipheral apparatus 2, through the wireless interface 31 to thecellular phone 4 (Step 106). The cellular phone 4 which received thisinformation uses the controller 42 in the telephone to exercise controlso as to display the failure contents based on failure informationreceived on the display 45 (Step 112). The information displayed may beas shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, for example. With the control in this step,convenience is improved in the case of the driver confirming thelocation of the failure outside the vehicle, because the driver is ableto reference failure information even if even outside of the vehicle.

[0046] Step 3: The controller 42 of the cellular phone 4 advances to thenext process when the user inputs a repair request to the cellular phone4 by operating the operating portion 46, or ends processing when arepair request is not made (Step 113). The controller 42 of the cellularphone 4 exercises control so as to add the user ID specifying the userof the cellular phone 4 stored in the memory 43 to the failureinformation, car information, and position information sent from thenavigation apparatus 3, automatically call the response center 6, andsend this information to the response center 6 (Step 107). With thecontrol in this step, the user of the cellular phone 4 completes theprocedure for requesting a repair from the response center 6 just byperforming operations to make a request with the screen for selecting arepair request.

[0047] Step 4: After the driver is specified, the processing server 61communicates to confirm agreement to the repair with the cellular phone4 (Step 114). Because the user ID of the cellular phone 4 is alreadystored in the failure reception table 62, the caller can be specified.The cellular phone 4 which received the confirmation of agreement to therepair exercises control with the controller 42 to display the contentsof the agreement confirmation on the display 45. The contents displayedmay be as shown in FIG. 7 or 8, for example. Subsequent processing isthe same as in the first embodiment. With the control in this step, theperson requesting the repair is provided a feeling of security becausethe response center 6 communicates that the repair request was receivedto the person requesting the repair; the agreement of the personrequesting the repair and the confirmation of the payment method arecompleted with a secure and simple procedure for the response center 6;and for the repair shop 8, the information necessary to make the repair,the location of the broken down car, the caller, and so forth can beunderstood and the repair work can be carried out quickly and correctly.

[0048]FIG. 11 is an example of the process flow of the repair andmaintenance support system relating to the third embodiment of thepresent invention. The present embodiment is an example wherein the userof the navigation apparatus 3 decides to carry out failure detectionprocessing by freely performing operations. In order to prompt suchoperations, a screen as shown in FIG. 12 may be displayed on the display37 of the navigation apparatus 3. It is indicated that this screen is amenu screen (215), and an item for selecting failure detection (216) isadded to a screen for selecting the various functions of the navigationapparatus 3 (in the present embodiment, these are navigation functionsand audio functions for listening to CDs or the radio). When a userselects this item using the operating portion 36, an instruction toperform failure detection is output from the controller 33 of thenavigation apparatus 3 to each onboard peripheral apparatus 2 (Step116). Also, because there are many display items, a scroll bar (217) maybe displayed and indicate that it is possible to scroll through thescreen.

[0049] In the case where the controller 33 of the navigation apparatus 3detects a failure as a result of failure processing, the controller 33advances to the next process. When there is no failure in any part, itis indicated that failure information=no failure and the controller 33advances to the next process (Step 118). The controller 33 exercisescontrol to display failure contents based on failure information on thedisplay 37. In the case where failure information=no failure, the resultis to give the user a sense of security by displaying that information.Afterwards, in the case where there is a failure in Step 120, thecontroller 33 advances to (a) in FIG. 3, but exercises control to endthe processing when there is no failure. With the present embodiment,the driver can confirm failure detection results on the spot when thedriver wants to confirm the condition of the car. Furthermore, in thecase where failure is detected the driver can immediately carry outprocedures to request repair.

[0050]FIG. 13 is a drawing showing an example of the process flowrelating to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The presentembodiment is an example wherein the user of the cellular phone 4decides to carry out failure detection processing by performingpredetermined operations. In order to prompt such operations, a screenas shown in FIG. 14 may be displayed on the display 45 of the cellularphone 4. It is indicated that this screen is a menu screen for selectingfunctions (218). In this case, an item for selecting failure detection(219), in addition to a phone book function and e-mail and Internetfunctions, is added to the screen. When a user selects this item usingthe operating portion 46, the controller 42 of the cellular phone 4exercises control so as to output instructions for failure detection tothe navigation apparatus 3 (Step 121). The controller 33 of thenavigation apparatus 3 which received the instruction outputs aninstruction to perform failure detection to each onboard peripheralapparatus 2 (Step 122). Also, because there are many display items, ascroll bar (220) may be displayed and indicate that it is possible toscroll through the screen.

[0051] The presence of a point of failure is determined from the resultsof Step 122 (Step 123). When the controller 33 of the navigationapparatus 3 detects a failure (Step 123-Y), [the controller] advances tothe next process. When there is no point of failure (Step 123-N), thecontroller 33 advances to the next process with “failure information=nofailure” (Step 124). Next, the controller 33 adds the car informationand position information to the failure information and sends thisinformation to the cellular phone 4 (Step 125). The controller 42 of thecellular phone 4 which received this information exercises control so asto display failure contents based on the failure information on thedisplay 45 (Step 126). When “failure information =no failure”, the useris provided a sense of security with the display of that information.Afterwards, the presence of a failure is determined from the failureinformation (Step 127). When there is a failure (Step 127-Y), [thecontroller] advances to (b) in FIG. 10. When there is no failure (Step127-N), the controller 33 exercises control so as to end the process.With the present embodiment, the user of the cellular phone 4 canconfirm failure detection results on the spot when the user wants toconfirm the condition of the car. Furthermore, in the case where failureis detected, the driver can immediately carry out procedures to requestrepair.

[0052]FIG. 15 is an example of the process flow showing the fifthembodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment realizesautomation of settlement procedures for the repair fee. The repair shop8, the car manufacturer 7 which supplies the parts, and the settlementcorporation 9 which administers the payment for the cellular phone 4specified with the user ID make a contract in advance with the responsecenter 6. First is considered the case wherein the repair shop 8 claimsthe repair fee. The repair shop 8 finds the user ID of the personrequesting the repair from the contents of the failure reception tableacquired upon receiving the repair instructions from the response center6. The repair shop 8 completes the claim of the repair fee by sendingthis user ID to the response center 6 through the fixed transmissioncircuit network (Step 128). Next, the response center 6 which receivedthe user ID searches the failure reception table established in thecenter (Step 129), and completes the request for settlement byextracting the repair details with the user ID received, and sending theuser ID, amount claimed, and transfer information to the settlementcorporation 9 holding the payment account of the cellular phonespecified with the user ID through the fixed transmission network (Step130). At this time, security is maintained if the information necessaryfor settlement undergoes encryption.

[0053] The settlement corporation 9, which received the user ID, amountclaimed, and transfer information, performs processing to transfer theamount claimed from the account of the user ID to the account of theresponse center 6 specified in the advance contract (Step 131).Afterwards, the settlement processing is completed by transferring thenecessary amount from the account of the response center to the repairshop 8 and the car manufacturer 7 on the basis of the transferinformation received (Step 132). Because the repair shop 8 claims therepair fee just by sending the user ID of the person requesting therepair through the fixed transmission circuit network to the responsecenter 6, the present embodiment has the effects of saving labor andreducing processing time because the subsequent processing is automated.

[0054]FIG. 16 is an example of the process flow showing the sixthembodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment is anexample of the automation of processing in the case where the carmanufacturer 7 distributes information on repairs, or other informationrelating to the car, to the driver. The car manufacturer 7 completesthis processing by sending repair information or information relating tothe car to the response center 6 through the fixed transmission circuitnetwork (Step 128). Upon receiving the repair information or informationrelating to the car, the processing server 61 of the response center 6searches the database established in the center and finds the user IDfor the cellular phone 4 which is related to that car (Step 129). Next,the processing server 61 completes the process by sending repairinformation, car information, and the user ID to the pertinent cellularphone 4 on the basis of this user ID (Step 130).

[0055] Upon receiving the repair information, car information, and userID, the controller 42 of the cellular phone 4 displays the repairinformation on the display 45 of the cellular phone 4 or stores therepair information and car information to the memory 43 (Step 131).Next, the controller 42 exercises control so as to transfer the repairinformation and car information received by the cellular phone 4 to thenavigation apparatus 3 (Step 132). The controller 33 of the navigationapparatus 3 exercises control to display the received repair informationand car information on the display 37 and store that information in thememory 34 (Step 133). According to the present embodiment, the carmanufacturer 7 can distribute information to the cars just by a sendingthe repair information and car-related information to the responsecenter 6. Also, an advantage for the driver is the appropriateacquisition of repairs or the latest related information regarding thecar.

[0056] With the aforementioned embodiment, the driver can easily beinformed of the failure situation without needing specialized knowledgeand does not need to take the trouble to search for the closest repairshop or to explain the failure even when requesting a repair. For thisreason, the repair request is completed in a short period of time andanxiety on the part of the driver can be relieved. Also, because theprocedure for requesting repair is divided into three stages, the driveris notified of only the necessary information depending on the conditionof the car and the repair can be requested safely and securely becausethe car is definitely stopped before the driver is prompted to engage inthe repair request procedures. Furthermore, because the transactions arecarried out entirely through the response center, the driver himself isspared the complex operations of making calls to the related parties.Confirming payment is easy because the payment process is a batchprocess in the response center and the settlement corporation. Thepayment method may use the transfer account for paying the cellularphone fees, or billing to the address of the driver. The necessaryinformation for this is automatically acquired from the user ID and carinformation when the response center receives the repair request andtherefore no effort is required on the part of the person requesting therepair.

[0057] The repair shop 8 can carry out the remedy promptly and correctlybased on the correct failure information, car position information, andso forth from the broken down vehicle. Also, there is less effortinvolved in settlement because the settlement processing is handled bythe response center.

[0058] The car manufacturer saves effort because the response center iscommissioned to handle repair arrangements, the settlement of repairfees, and dealings with the person requesting the repair.

[0059] The response center can receive commission fees from the repairshop and car manufacturer because it is commissioned with handlingrepair arrangements, selling repair fees, and dealing with the personrequesting the repair.

[0060] In the aforementioned embodiment, failure information output fromthe onboard main controller is sent to the response center through acellular phone, but the present invention is not limited to theseembodiments. The onboard main controller itself may have a wirelesscommunication function like the cellular phone. Also, vehicle-roadcommunication, such as the one used in ITS (intelligent transportationsystem), may be used in wireless communication with the response center.

[0061] The present invention can provide a repair and maintenancesupport system which is easy to use, and wherein transactions areintegrated, and which is also able to make notification of failureinformation simply and to simplify the response of the driver when afailure occurs.

What is claimed is:
 1. A repair and maintenance support systemcomprising: an onboard peripheral apparatus installed on a vehicle andhaving a failure detector; an onboard main controller installed on avehicle and having a controller for managing car information from saidonboard peripheral apparatus; and a response center being capable ofreceiving information from said onboard main controller through wirelesscommunication; wherein said response center comprises a processcontroller, a repair-reception database storing data on failure based onfailure information received from said onboard main controller, acustomer database storing data relating on customer-related matters, anda remedy database storing data on failure remedies; and said processcontroller acquire information on failure remedy from remedy databaseestablished at a car manufacturer based on said failure information, andprovide instruction of remedy by transmitting said information onfailure remedy, to a shop for carrying out remedy.
 2. A repair andmaintenance support system according to claim 1, wherein said processcontroller of said response center is able to access remedy database atsaid car manufacturer for storing data on remedies, repair-receptiondatabase at said shop for storing failures received, and customerdatabase at a settlement corporation for storing customer-relatedmatters.
 3. A repair and maintenance support system according to claim2, wherein said process controller provide said shop with instructionson remedies for said failure, and then send information relating to arepair fee charged by said shop to said settlement corporation andinstruct said settlement corporation to bill said customer.
 4. Aresponse center being capable of receiving information relating to a carfailure from an onboard main controller installed on a vehicle throughwireless communication and having a controller for managing theoperating situation of the car; wherein said response center comprises aprocess controller, a repair-reception database storing data on failurebased on failure information received from said onboard main controller,a customer database storing data on customer-related matters, and aremedy database storing data on failure remedies; and said processcontroller acquire information on failure remedy from remedy databaseestablished at the car manufacturer based on said failure information,and provide instruction of remedy by transmitting said information onfailure remedy to a shop for carrying out remedy.
 5. A response center,according to claim 3, wherein the process controller of said responsecenter is able to access remedy database at said car manufacturer forstoring data on remedies, repair-reception database at said shop forstoring failures received, and customer database at a settlementcorporation for storing customer-related matters.
 6. A response center,according to claim 4, wherein said process controller provide said shopwith instructions on remedies for said failure, and then sendinformation relating to a repair fee charged by said shop to saidsettlement corporation and instruct said settlement corporation to billsaid customer.
 7. A car comprising a power system; a driving systemdriven by said power system; a braking system installed in this drivingsystem; an onboard peripheral apparatus having failure detection meansfor detecting failures in at least one of said power system, drivingsystem, and braking system; and an onboard main controller having acontroller for managing car information from said onboard peripheralapparatus; wherein, said controller provides an instruction to pull overand stop, while transmitting information on car failure and IDinformation through wireless communication, when a failure is detectedin at least one of said power system, driving system, and brakingsystem.
 8. A car, according to claim 7, wherein said onboard maincontroller is able to communicate with a cellular phone through awireless connection and is able to transmit said car failure informationthrough said cellular phone.
 9. A car, according to claim 8, whereinsaid cellular phone transmits said ID information with said car failureinformation, and said ID information is the telephone number of saidcellular phone.
 10. A car, according to claim 8, wherein said cellularphone is enabled to communicate through a wireless connection with saidonboard main controller when a predetermined operation is performed; andsaid controller of said onboard main controller sends said car failureinformation to said cellular phone in response to a command from saidcellular phone.
 11. A repair and maintenance support system comprising:an onboard peripheral apparatus installed on a vehicle and having afailure detector; an onboard main controller installed on said vehicleand having a controller for managing car information from said onboardperipheral apparatus; a cellular phone being capable of communicatingwith said onboard main controller through a wireless connection; aresponse center for receiving car repair request and for arrangingmaintenance, being connected to a fixed transmission circuit network;and a car manufacturer being connected to said fixed transmissioncircuit network; wherein, said car manufacturer completes processingdistribution of repair information relating to a car, by transmittingsaid repair information and car information corresponding to said carrepair request through the fixed transmission circuit network to theresponse center; said response center, upon receiving said repairinformation and car information corresponding to said car repairrequest, completes processing assigned thereto by searching a databaseestablished therein, and extracting a user ID of said cellular phonerelated to the pertinent car, and transmitting said car information andsaid user ID to the cellular phone; said cellular phone, upon receivingsaid repair information, said car information, and said user ID,completes processing assigned thereto by sending said repair informationand said car information through a wireless connection to said onboardmain controller; and the onboard main controller, upon receiving saidrepair information and said car information, displays said repairinformation on a display equipped with said onboard main controllerbased on received information.
 12. A repair and maintenance supportmethod comprising: a first procedure for indicating a warning of pullingover and stopping on an indicator in a car when a failure is detected; asecond procedure for displaying contents of said failure on a displaywhen said car has stopped; and a third procedure for sending a repairrequest through wireless communication to a response center, along withfailure information, car information, position information, and IDinformation when a predetermined operation is performed on the onboardmain controller.